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American Yellow Warbler
Setophaga aestiva
Identify the American Yellow Warbler by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The American Yellow Warbler is a widespread New World warbler that breeds across most of North America and winters from Mexico to South America. Breeding males are vivid yellow with rusty breast streaks, while females and young are duller greenish-yellow. Once lumped with the Mangrove Warbler, it is now a separate species on the basis of DNA, plumage and voice. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Europe.
Did you know?
- Its song is remembered as “sweet sweet sweet, I'm so sweet”.
- It sometimes buries cowbird eggs by building a new nest on top of the old one.
Voice
About the species
Identification
A small, bright yellow warbler with a plain face, a dark eye and yellow edges to the wing and tail feathers. The male has rufous streaks on the breast; females are plainer and greener. Young birds may look very pale greyish, but the yellow tail spots remain.
Family
Parulidae
Size
Tiny (goldcrest)
Colours
yellow, green, brown
About the habitat
Moist, shrubby habitats – willow and alder thickets, streamsides, wetland edges and gardens; in winter brushy habitats and woodland edges.
Diet
Mainly insects and other arthropods gleaned from leaves and twigs, sometimes caught in short flights; occasionally berries.
Behaviour
An active, restless foliage-gleaner in shrubs and trees. Males sing persistently to defend territories. Both sexes use a variety of calls, including a special “seet” alarm aimed at Brown-headed Cowbirds, which parasitise its nests; it may bury cowbird eggs by building a new nest floor on top.
Sources
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow warbler (82905).jpg
Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, XC81303, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://xeno-canto.org/81303
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_yellow_warbler
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